Comprehensive Tribal Inventory Assessment

Mission:
To complete a comprehensive national inventory of transportation facilities eligible for assistance under the Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) program and develop a Congressional Report that includes the cost required to improve tribal transportation systems to an adequate level.

Background:
The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), passed in 1998, required the Departments of the Interior and Transportation to develop a new funding distribution formula for the IRR Program. A negotiated rulemaking team composed of tribal and federal representatives was established to carry out this task. The result was the IRR Program Final Rule, 25 CFR Part 170, which was published on July 19, 2004. The rule contained a new funding distribution formula called the Tribal Transportation Allocation Methodology (TTAM).

TTAM causes tribal inventories of IRR facilities to be the major factor in determining the funding amounts that tribes receive. During the rulemaking process, the BIA Division of Transportation (BIADOT) developed a new database system to handle the increased inventory update activity. The Road Inventory Field Data System (RIFDS) is designed to be Internet based and accessible from the field, both at the BIA Regional level and the Tribal level. Unfortunately, due to current litigation, this has not yet been achievable. This lack of field accessibility is a cause of major concern to the Tribes. In addition, the transition from the old system to RIFDS and the inclusion of new factors and facilities has raised concerns regarding the accuracy of the inventory and the costs associated with it. BIADOT has recognized these concerns and is working to remove obstacles and alleviate the concerns.

The new highway authorization, Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), passed in August 2005, contains a statute that directs the Secretary of Transportation, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior to complete a comprehensive national inventory of transportation facilities eligible under the IRR Program. This inventory is to be completed within two years and a report provided to Congress within ninety days of completion. The statute states:

1. “TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES INCLUDED IN THE INVENTORY — For purposes of identifying the tribal transportation system and determining the relative transportation needs among Indian tribes, the Secretary shall include, at a minimum, transportation facilities that are eligible for assistance under the Indian reservation roads program that a tribe has requested, including facilities that —

1. were included in the Bureau of Indian Affairs system inventory for funding formula purposes in 1992 or any subsequent fiscal year;
2. were constructed or reconstructed with funds from the Highway Trust Funds (other than the Mass Transit Account) under the Indian reservation roads program since 1983;
3. are owned by an Indian tribal government; or
4. are community streets or bridges within the exterior boundary of Indian reservations, Alaska Native villages, and other recognized Indian communities (including communities in former Indian reservations in Oklahoma) in which the majority of residents are American Indians or Alaska Natives; or
5. are primary access routes proposed by tribal governments, including roads between villages, roads to landfills, roads to drinking water sources, roads to natural resources identified for economic development, and roads that provide access to intermodal termini, such as airports, harbors, or boat landings.”

FHWA will work closely with BIADOT and the BIA Regional Offices to collect data on eligible facilities. In addition, FHWA will work with these offices as well as the IRR Coordinating Committee to minimize the barriers that tribes have encountered in getting their inventory accepted. However, this assessment is not intended to replace the existing BIA Inventory and as such, the tribal, BIA Regional Office, and BIADOT efforts must remain focused on getting the tribal entries into the RIFDS system.

Scope of Work:
Federal Lands (FLH) will lead the effort to gather the information needed for this inventory assessment and develop the Congressional report. As previously stated, the assessment will include multiple areas of IRR eligible facilities. The chart below shows these various areas, followed by a description of each:

FLH will develop an outline describing the data to be collected; team accessibility; data entry mechanism; and report formats. It is recognized that this report will reflect a “snapshot” in time as the IRR Inventory is constantly changing. The type of work that will be required for each of the areas under “Available Data” is described below:

Status:
As of May 10, 2006 the official FY05 IRR inventory has been downloaded from RIFDS and provided to FLH from BIADOT. The review and analysis of this information has begun. The latest IRR bridge data has also been received and the analysis and review of this material has begun as well. A scope of work has been developed for conducting a statistical sampling and on-site review of existing data within all BIA Regions to determine the data´s accuracy and suitability. The review of these facilities is scheduled to begin this spring and continue through fall of 2006. Upon completion of the statistical sampling additional fieldwork will be completed as deemed necessary.

BIADOT will provide a listing of “in-process”, “at-the-Region”, “at-BIADOT” and “returned-to-the Field” RIFDS records. All these records will be reviewed and recommendations provided so as to have these facilities included in the RIFDS no later than the “snapshot date”. FLH is working with Federal Transit Administration to develop a listing of active transit facilities. FLH will be requesting information from BIADOT, BIA Regional Offices, and State DOTs to determine the costs to be associated with new facilities that are not yet included in RIFDS and will be discussing this information with the IRR Coordinating Committee at a future date.

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